Let's Hunt Her (Book #2)

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Lisa and I stand still for a second, surveying the street in front of the Tiger's Den, before she starts walking purposefully toward the center of the Market. But I still don't see the bouncer, and considering he stands a good foot taller than most people here, I'm not convinced I'm missing something.

"Do you know he went this way?" I ask, keeping my voice low.

"No," she says, but doesn't look at me.

"So you're guessing?"

"I'm guessing," she says, and panic grips me once again.

We emerge into the domed Market and I scan the crowd. But the bouncer's nowhere to be found. I glance at Lisa, and even though her expression is unreadable, I can feel the anxiety radiating off her. If we lose him, that's it. Game over. We will never find the Tiger estate or appa in time.

I keep scanning the crowd, aware that each moment my eyes aren't down I risk discovery. Every muscle in my body is tense and I take a forceful breath, willing my posture to relax.

There at the opposite side of the square, the tall guard emerges from a shop. The relied I feel is so intense that my eyes water. I know Lisa sees him, too, because she picks up her pace.

The tall bouncer exits the Market through an archway, but instead of heading straight for him, Lisa leads us through an alternate archway to the left. The moment we exit, the noise diminishes and so does the light. The couple of torches that illuminate the street cast large patches of shadow. About a hundred feet ahead of us the bouncer turns left and we silence our steps. Then, without warning, something grazes my sleeve.

I turn around, my hand reaching for my knife, only to find Sehun, with Rosé just a few steps behind. Even from a quick look I can tell there's tension between them. I didn't hear them approach and I have no idea what direction they came from; it gives me an unsettled feeling. We're all so good at sneaking up on one another that you never know who's following you.

As we near the turn where the bouncer disappeared, we slow our pace. Lisa peeks around the doorway and Sehun surveys the street behind us. They nod at each other and we turn into an abandoned apartment, weaving around a broken table and some chairs. At the far door, Lisa peers out, looking both ways and pointing to her right. And so we follow the bouncer, transitioning from the torchlit streets to the pitch-black ones, where he must have stashed an oil lamp, because all of a sudden there is a beacon of light ahead of us. Sehun finds my hand with his and I'm grateful for the comforting gesture.

The guard turns through another doorway, and before Lisa can catch up, the light disappears, casting us into complete darkness. Sehun pulls me to a stop and we all stand silently still for a couple of awful seconds.

"I'll follow," Sehun breathes in a way that suggests we should stay put. He lets go of my hand.

I don't dare speak, but as his body heat disappears, my anxiety heightens. I reach out, finding Rosé's sleeve, and grip it like anchor. But she's having none of it. She grabs my hand and pulls me forward, placing my palm firmly on the cold stone wall, as if to say "Hold this," and moves away from me. I want to ask Sehun what he's found, but before I work up the nerve, light reappears inside the archway.

Lisa cautiously peers around the doorway and Rosé pulls out a knife. But whatever Lisa sees must be nonthreatening because she walks through with confidence. Rosé and I follow her into what appears to be an abandoned shoe-maker's shop. There are workbenches littered shoe-shaping tools and shelves showcasing boot designs that I can only guess are hundreds of years old. Sehun stands in the center of the forgotten room holding a lit candle, scanning everything with purpose, and it instantly becomes clear why-there is no exit other than the one we just came through, so unless the bouncer vanished into thin air, he must have used a secret door.